University of Northampton forms strategic partnership with Beijing’s British Motorsport Festival

The University of Northampton has joined forces with the organisers of a prestigious motorsport festival in China.

The British Motorsport Festival takes place at the Goldenport Motor Park in Beijing on October 14 and 15, and will provide a focal point for UK organisations to engage with Chinese businesses.

The University’s China and Emerging Economies Centre (CEEC) has formed a strategic partnership with the festival organisers, with the aim of developing research, trade and investment between British and Chinese companies in the motorsport industry, with the potential to expand to other industries.

In January, the CEEC hit the headlines when it revealed it was forging links between Hunan Province in China and the UK’s Motorsport Valley – an area straddling Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey which is home to more than 3,000 companies associated with motorsport.

They include Formula One teams Red Bull Racing in Milton Keynes, Mercedes AMG, which has factories in Brixworth and Brackley and Force India, who are based at the home of the UK F1 Grand Prix, Silverstone.

The University will play a key role in developing the potential of the British Motorsport Festival in the UK in attracting and supporting companies to trade with China.

Professor Nick Petford, the University’s Vice Chancellor, said: “The CEEC is an initiative designed to create academic and commercial partnerships with parts of the world which will add significant value to our region, and this alliance with the British Motorsport Festival creates exciting opportunities for all parties concerned.”

British Motorsport Festival founder, Jim James, said: “China offers many opportunities for British business, and the function of our series of events is to allow companies to explore the market with minimal risks by creating a centre of knowledge  at the CEEC, and a business-to-business event in China attended by qualified potential partners with a common purpose.”

The festival will be preceded by the British Motorsport Conference, in Beijing, on 12 October.

For more information, visit www.britishmotorsportfestival.com.